The Groundtruth from a combat veteran, backed up by independent research and historical study. Information beneficial to the Troops. And a touch of objective politics, as it relates to the subjects at hand.

This site is unabashedly Pro-American and Pro-Military however none of the views expressed here are to be considered as endorsed, proposed, or supported by the Department of Defense or any other Agency, government, public, or private. http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/

Pro-Troop Non-Profits WE Support

Giftcards

Shadow of the Sword

SSgt Workman is featured in the Hall of Heroes and a book review on this from Marine Till Death that read it as it was written: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/shadow-of-the-sword-by-jeremiah-workman-w-john-bruning.html

http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/ssgt-jeremiah-workman-navy-cross-usmc-iraq-marion-oh.html and links to prior articles.

Meta Tags & Counters

356 posts from March 2009

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

A KC-135 Stratotanker refuels a Royal Air Force GR-4 Tornado over Iraq using the multi-point refueling systems. With MPRS, Air Force tankers have the versatility to refuel Air Force, Navy and coalition aircraft all in the same mission. (U.S. Air Force file photo)

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2009 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus recently presented a $12,636 check to American Recreational Military Services to help the troop-support group ship care packages overseas to deployed servicemembers.

Do you live in Grant County, Indiana? Are you about to graduate from high school and/or plan on attending college this upcoming summer or fall? If you said yes to these questions, then you should look into applying for this scholarship. I just came across this information a few minutes ago. You have plenty of time, but why wait? I have linked to the online site for applications below.

3/30/2009 - COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AFNS) -- A new special area of emphasis, or SAE, titled "Space as a Contested Environment," was introduced by U.S. military officials here March 30 at the 25th National Space Symposium.

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2001 – "I was
frightened, but you've got to control fear, or fear will get you killed
-- quicker," Medal of Honor recipient Ed W. Freeman said as he
described flying his Huey helicopter in and out of a hot landing zone
in Vietnam on Nov. 14, 1965.

"Naturally, I had a certain degree of
fear," said the retired Army major, who also wears three Distinguished
Flying Crosses. "But after awhile, I just accepted the fact that it was
coming sooner or later. I figured it would be soon than later, but it
didn't."

Freeman said it was hot for the grunts on the ground and hot for him in
the air at Landing Zone X-Ray in South Vietnam's Ia Drang Valley. "I
don't know how many times my chopper was hit during that 14 hours, but
it was a lot," he said. "Every time a round hit it sounded like
somebody tapping it with a hammer. You can feel it, too."

Insurgent attack kills Afghan civilian in Herat province

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan civilian was killed yesterday as a result of wounds received during an insurgent ambush on a reconstruction and development team in Shindand district, Herat province.

The development team was in the area assessing the needs of the villages, when insurgents attacked their convoy with rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire.

The reconstruction team requested assistance from nearby Coalition forces, who immediately responded. After the insurgents fled the area, Coalition forces discovered a wounded man in a compound near the ambush site. The man's family had bandaged his head and stated that an insurgent RPG round was responsible for the wound.

He received immediate medical attention while being transferred to a nearby Coalition medical facility. Despite the medical team's best efforts, the man died from his wounds.

The man's family expressed their gratitude to the Coalition forces for their attempts to save the man's life, and the assistance in providing transportation and food during their time of need and grief.

"This is yet another tragedy caused by these ruthless militants who have no regard for the safety and sanctity of innocent Afghan lives," said a Coalition forces spokesman. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family that lost a loved one today due to insurgent brutality."

An Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II, like the one shown here, flew a show
of force March 28, expending a number of flares, to deter an enemy
force attack while providing overwatch for a coalition medical
evacuation by helicopter. (U.S. Air Force file photo/Airman 1st Class
Chad Strohmeyer)

Monday, March 30, 2009

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2009 – The United States’ short-term goal for Afghanistan may have been refined, but the long-term goal has stayed the same, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today on “Fox News Sunday.”

“I think the near-term objectives have been narrowed,” Gates said, referring to the Afghanistan-Pakistan policy review President Barack Obama unveiled March 27. “I think our long-term objectives would still be to see a flourishing democracy in Afghanistan.

“But I think what we need to focus on … is making headway and reversing the Taliban’s momentum and strengthening the Afghan army and police, and really going after al-Qaida, as the president said,” the secretary said.

When all is said and done, about 68,000 U.S. troops will be on the ground in Afghanistan to help

On this day in Nineteen SEVENTY-THREE, the last US troops departed Viet Nam. (Saigon fell in 1975, two years later. The famous pictures are of the Embassy Marines evacuating as many as they could save.)

After 3 tries, a bill (HR 189) sponsored by Rep Linda Sanchez(D-CA), first sponsored on 25 June 2007, passed, establishing this day as Vietnam Veterans Day. Please say "Welcome Home" to any Viet Nam Veteran you may know on this day.

Please extend a thank you to Rep Sanchez and to former combat medic Jose Ramos of Whittier, CA who made this happen.

Of all Our Veterans, my Viet Nam Brothers, were treated the worst and even today misperceptions pervade about their service. They served with Honor, Valor, and in Victory. Unlike most Veterans, they received no parades, only disdain. And today, their sacrifice is noted by the one thing they needed and didn't get, please tell each and every Viet Nam Veteran you know: "Welcome Home" today, if not whenever you meet one.

Army Staff Sgt. Josh Olson trains with a .22-caliber rifle at Fort
Benning, Ga. Olson, a member of the Army Marksmanship Unit's
international rifle team, spends about 15 hours training each week and
participates in between 10 and 15 national and international matches
each year. Olson is the only wounded warrior in the AMU.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

New Afghan Program Supports Community-based Approach to Security

Panjshir Empowerment Program helps educate community

Written by Air Force Capt. Stacie N. Shafran, Panjshir PRT Public Affairs Office BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (March 27, 2009) - In Panjshir’s Anaba District, a classroom of 10 women, all teachers, practiced a lesson plan to teach their future students about numbers.

The women are enrolled in a two-year U.S. Agency for International Development-funded program called “Learning for Community Empowerment.”

The program is designed to increase literacy and numeracy education, while also providing vocational training. Currently more than 5,700 of the Panjshir Valley’s men and women participate.

“The goal is to educate and provide vocational skills to those who have not previously had the chance to attend school because of social reasons or because of the war-time environment,” said Jeremy Richart, the USAID field officer assigned to the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction team. As such,

General David D. McKiernan is the commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan and also the commander of NATO's International Security Asssistance Force (ISAF).

He entered the Army in 1972, receiving an ROTC commission from the College of William and Mary. He has served from platoon leader to numbered Army commander in Europe, CONUS, Korea and Southwest Asia. His assignments have included tours of duty in 1st Infantry Division, 2nd Infantry Division, 1st Armored Division, 3rd Armored Division, 1st Cavalry Division, VII Corps and 3rd US Army.

MPs start first district level SWAT team

Written by Army Sgt. Matthew C. Moeller, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (March 27, 2009) -- Being one of the only three Military Police officers tasked with mentoring Afghan National Police in an area larger than the state of Delaware means being creative.

“We were on a soft-knock in Nishagam, and we noticed that it might be good to have a specially trained team,” remembers Army Sgt. Nathan Byrd, the team’s leader “Well a couple of days later we were watching the movie ‘S.W.A.T’.”

For the three Grafenwoehr, Germany, based Soldiers from 3rd Platoon, 527th MP Company, the idea of establishing the first SWAT-like team made up of Afghan police in Regional Command-East, was too

An 8th Iraqi Army Division Soldier looks through the aiming circle to verify the positioning of a target on the final day of 120 mm mortar system training at the 8th IA Div. headquarters, March 24. Photo by Sgt. Rodney Foliente, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs.

Sure, Iraq has lost its prime spot in the news as the Sustained Successes of the Petraeus Plan became less debateable, but it's still interesting to look back into time at how politicians positions changed with the tides of political populism.

Leaders? or poll followers? Why the changing positions? We pay our representatives to know and to decide on issues we don't have sufficient time or power to decide. Are these leaders?

Sometimes, we can "discover" an untold story, a great individual who's story would otherwise go untold. In such cases, it generally takes a lot of prodding to convince the hero that his story needs to be told, for the sake of others, he should step into the spotlight.

Such is not the case with SSgt Jeremiah Workman. Others convinced him to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight. But having met this hero and with one of our contributors having become great friends with him, it is our pleasure to shine our lights on him, to provide our small amount to his success. Our part is small, but we will continue to cover his acceptance of a new role in helping others.

Soon, Amazon should be updating the cover of Jeremiah's book, but we have received a copy of the cover and will introduce it here. Nice Work!

WOTN Note: What happens when those reporting news become a part of the news? Our own MsMarti has continued to report on the Successes and Generosity of Our Troops, even as the waters rose around her, even as she made time to assist the National Guard help her and her neighbors. It took some poking and prodding but she has agreed to share that story with us, even if she downplays her role in making the news.

MsMarti: I debated about posting more news on what is happening up here in Fargo, North Dakota. It certainly doesn't relate to Iraq, Afghanistan or even the war effort. We are fighting a battle, against a flooded river that is.

What it does relate to is how individuals within a community and within a state make that TWO states have pulled together and how our National Guardsmen and Army Corps of Engineers helped us as we turned the odds in our favor.

Here is a short video made last week, before we knew the potential crest had been raised up to 42 feet. It pretty much says it all.

When the City of Fargo asked its residents to stay off the streets, it wasn't because they were shutting the town down and giving up or quitting (as was reported on the national news). It was to get the sandbags delivered faster! Traffic was slowing down deliveries.

We are now in a different phases of the flooding. High alert with all eyes on the dikes in town! The city has been divided into sections. Each section has its own engineer, supply of emergency use sandbags, drivers, trucks, equipment ready to respond to any leaks or breeches in the dikes in their section. Citizens are walking the patrols alongside guardsmen and city workers, looking for any water that might be getting through.

Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota learned from the floods of '97. One thing people outside of this area might not realize is that the thousands of volunteers were happy to come help out their neighbors, friends and others. They would finish up, and when a call went out for

Saturday, March 28, 2009

I don't set the prices on these books but I do watch the fluctuations Amazon and their affiliates charge for them. If they weren't great books, I would not put them on my sidebar.

The Hunt for Bin Laden by Robin Moore , now available for a single cent, $0.01, tells the story of the Invasion of Afghanistan. Robin Moore, no longer with us, traveled to Afghanistan to interview members of 5th Special Forces Group, when Bagram Air Field was still just a tent. Between missions, the 200 or so men that freed Afghanistan from the Taliban joined him in the mess hall to tell their stories.

Robin Moore was able to get the straight scoop because he has a long history with Special Forces. He has participated in training with them and he was also the author of Green Berets, the book that inspired the movie of the same name starring John Wayne.

I bought the hard cover years ago and I would recommend the book even at full price.

Roughneck Nine-One by Frank Antenori is now available for $6.67. SFC Antenori proves in his writing that Special Forces troops are indeed the masters of many skills as his writing is easy to read and hard to put down. A Veteran of Afghanistan SFC Antenori led ODA 391 in the Invasion of Iraq. His stories explain the relationships of Alpha Males of Special Forces, within the team, as teams within the company, and as 3rd Group interacts with other Special Forces Groups. Each Member and each unit has a distinct personality.

"If you're not cheating, you're not trying. If you get caught, you're not trying hard enough." This slogan took his team from being the black sheep of the black sheep to being the star performers and given a premiere mission in the Invasion of Iraq.

It's action packed and humorous.

Medal of Honor by Peter Collier lists for $45.00, is available new for $29.70, with a best price of $8.81 As it comes with a DVD with interviews of the living recipients of Our Nations highest medal for valor and includes short stories of all of them, this is worth $45 and a bargain at the lower prices.

This hard cover book is the size of a coffee table book and is full of great photography, stories told by the recipients. When your child asks what a true hero looks like, you can open it to any page and have a story fiction writers couldn't dream up.

A General Speaks Out by Michael DeLong takes us behind the scenes at CentCom from the eyes of "The Answer Man" during tumultous times. Shortly after taking the #2 job at the Command that oversees the Middle East, Al-Qaeda attacked the USS Cole. Working for the cantankerous General Franks, things rarely were easy, the days rarely short. His lengthy tour of duty (twice the normal length) at CentCom included the USS Cole, the Invasion of Afghanistan, and the Invasion of Iraq.

He calls it like he sees it and explains why he retired when he did. He pulls no punches when describing the characters he dealt with, including Rumsfeld briefings and Franks interactions.

He is willing to admit where the planning for Iraq missed the mark and why as well as challenges foreseen and how they were overcome or weren't.

At new, it's worth the $10.91, but if you want the best price you can pick it up for less than $1.

If you already have these books, you know how good they are. If you don't, you should. Whether you are looking to expand your knowledge of recent history or looking for great gifts for friends and family that enjoy history, for the Troops, these are great deals on great books, each worth the original price.

IA Soldiers Hone Combat Medical Skills

Iraqi Soldiers work quickly to treat a simulated casualty as the room they are in fills up with smoke during combat lifesaver training at Joint Security Station Salam, March 25. Photo by Sgt. Joshua Risner, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.

BAGHDAD — U.S. Soldiers of the 6th Iraqi Army (IA) Division’s Military Transition Team (MiTT) recently hosted a combat lifesaver class intended to help the IA to shoulder more of the load as Coalition forces responsibly withdraw.

MiTT members taught a variety of first aid techniques including treatment of head trauma, fractures, impaled objects and controlling bleeding.

“Basically [the goal of the] training that we conducted is…to combine the experience of the Iraqi medics along with the American medics,” said Sgt. 1st Class Gary Petty, medical advisor, 6th IA Div. MiTT. “We’re trying to get them trained on trauma-type situations; things they can carry out on the battlefield.”

The Iraqis also received instruction on Tactical Combat Casualty Care, according to Sgt. 1st Class

Not every battle can be won. Not every Marine comes out of the fight unscathed. When a Marine finds one of his brethren down on the battlefield, he lets lose a call that has been sounded for decades. "Corpsmen up!"

In this edition:ANA, Special Operations troops treat thousands throughout Afghanistan

ISAF surgeon saving Afghan lives

KABUL, Afghanistan - A British Royal Navy Surgeon, Commander Steve Bree, is currently serving with other International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) medics in the Camp Bastion Role 2 Medical Facility. As the Clinical Director, he oversees the staff providing medical care to ISAF and Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) troops, as well as local civilians.

Having deployed in February, Commander Bree’s two-month tour will soon end with his return to the UK, where he works at a military hospital. In providing medical care at the Camp Bastion facility, he dealt with patients experiencing a range of illnesses and injuries and also helped deliver babies. Despite the Role 2 facility being an ISAF hospital, the vast majority of people receiving emergency treatment have been

An Air Force
B-1B Lancer flies a mission over Afghanistan. The B-1B can rapidly
deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons
against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time. (U.S. Air
Force photo/Lance Cheung)

Three Marines from 8th and I Marine Barracks stand beside a traveling exhibit of photographs and mementos left at the Vietnam Memorial. The exhibit, which was unveiled March 26, 2009, during a ceremony on the National Mall, is built into the sides of a tractor trailer that will tour the nation from April through November. DoD photo by Linda D. Kozaryn

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2009 – The chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today expressed concern over a possible
North Korean satellite launch that could violate United Nations
sanctions against nuclear testing by the government in Pyongyang.

3/27/2009 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- Coalition
airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and the
International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during
operations March 24, according to Combined Air and Space Operations
Center officials here.

A member of Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment, 18th Fires Brigade, Harris’ time at Forward Operating Base Bostick in Afghanistan has taught him much more than just how to send rounds downrange.

UNIONDALE, N.Y.-Lance Cpl. Albert Charles, a percussionist with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band, showboats during his solo, much to the chagrin of Staff Sgt. Kristofer Hutsell, 2nd MAW band enlisted conductor, during a performance at Uniondale High School in Uniondale, N.Y., March 18. The act was a crowd favorite for audiences during the band’s 10-day tour of Northeastern cities.Cpl. Noah S. Leffler, 3/19/2009 4:59 AM

You missed it? Next airing of this should be at 3:50AM Eastern 28 MAR 2009. It has not yet reached his webpage, but we will embed when that is available. CNN's Transcript of the Show (As of 9/13/09, I still haven't found the video, but I was impressed with Lou Dobbs in that he regularly ends his show with the story of one of Our Heroes.)

Jeremiah Workman: Shadow of the SwordPRE-Order Now!!!! Ssgt Workman is featured in the Hall of Heroes and a book review on this from Our Jarhead Insider that read it as it was written: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/shadow-of-the-sword-by-jeremiah-workman-w-john-bruning.html The Most recent article is here: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/ssgt-jeremiah-workman-navy-cross-usmc-iraq-marion-oh.html and links to prior articles.

First, the policy is necessarily broad in some areas and perhaps a bit too detailed in others. The need for a broadly defined policy at this level is tied directly to the level of policy decision. Admiral Mullen, General Petraeus, and General McKiernan each need discretion to implement policy in their levels of decision making. The CinC should not be deciding which provinces and cities in which to deploy Troops.

I will assume that the decision to send the 82nd Airborne was made by Admiral Mullen in consultation with the Joint Chiefs, the Army Chief of Staff and the G1 of the Army, and merely reported by the CinC. I must further assume that this is not the same part of 82nd that is currently deployed.

The Obama Campaign Office Administration Press Release on the White Paper can be found on the official site. The first thing I will say is that it is time for the Administration to get off the campaign trail and end the attacks on his predecessor. There is no need for this kind of comment:

Afghanistan

Google

Delta Bravo Sierra

Volume 1

For a few bucks more you can get a signed copy from the author himself! http://www.deltabravosierra.us/2011/02/10/a-word-about-the-new-book/comment-page-1/#comment-3383
Get your copy of this legendary cartoon now (or wait a few days for the signed copy!)

Amazon Electronics

Profound Classics

Ace Of Spades: Why Language MattersIn this article, Ace of Spades demonstrates how the writing style of "journalists" and other writers is purposely used to influence the electorate. He explains this far better than I have been able to do, but this is the foundation of why I could no longer be silent.